Witness to Sriraman murder: 'Thank God I didn't get out of the car'

We're learning more about the murder of Jelena Sriraman through details in a newly released arrest affidavit obtained by KLTV.

According to the affidavit, police found Jelena laying in the doorway of the carport with several shell casings from the firearm on the floor near her body.

Two witnesses saw Calvert leave Sriraman's home, and one of them spoke Friday about her horrifying ordeal.

Shonda Emmert had driven to Pollard Park Wednesday afternoon to swap some items with another woman - but she got there early and was eating lunch in her car when something strange happened.

"I heard three shots - pow, pow, pow - and I just looked around to see if I saw anybody or maybe a kid playing with a toy," she said. "But I didn't see anybody."

With her car facing away from Jelena Srirman's house, she kept turning around to look out the windows of her car when she saw James Calvert leave, holding his 4-year-old son Lucas.

"I had the windows down, and so I was just looking, and thank God I didn't get out of the car, because I didn't see a weapon, but who knows what he had," Emmert said. "And he had him wrapped around like this, and he just put him in the backseat, and I didn't see him buckle him in. And I just turned around and I just watched him slowly go by."

Emmert says she sat in her car for a few minutes before deciding to drive to the home, just to make sure everything was ok.

"I looked into the carport and I saw that the door was open, and it looked like there was some wood, like someone had kicked in the door," she said.

Another person who knew Jelena came by at just that time, and seeing her lying in the doorway, asked Emmert to call 9-1-1.

It's a situation Emmert described as terrifying.

"You don't know his mindset, you don't know what he's capable of, you don't know what could happen or would have happened if somebody would have intervened," said Emmert. "I'm just sorry that this happened to her and that she was trying to get out of the situation and she just - it just didn't happen."

James Calvert is being held at a facility in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana.